A memorial will be held Friday for long-time Rattlers season-ticket holder Ray Fritzinger, who died Oct.11 from cancer at age 65.

Fritzinger ran Ninthman.com, a fan web page for the ArenaBowl champions, from 2001 to 2011.

The celebration will start at 6 p.m. at Spring of Life Church, 1330 S. Crismon Rd., Mesa. Visitation will be at 6 and the service at 6:30. People are asked to wear Rattlers attire.

Former Rattlers great Randy Gatewood and Dr. Jesse McGuire, the trumpeter who often has played the national anthem before Rattlers games, are expected to attend. There will be an open microphone for people to share stories

The Rattlers, a week after capturing ArenaBowl XXV with a 72-58 win over the Philadelphia Soul, will get on a bus late this afternoon and go to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale for the Cardinals' preseason game against the Oakland Raiders.

Coach and General Manager Kevin Guy said it is expected that a camera will be put on the team and the players will be on the JumboTron at some point during the game.

Saturday night, there will be a Rattler Rally at US Airways Center between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., where the players will be introduced like pre-game coming out of the tunnel.

This should be a big production number unlike what was held Wednesday afternoon at the US Airways Center pavilion. That was a news conference. This will be a show with season highlights and interviews and speeches.

"We'll do it up right," Guy said. "Because we played the ArenaBowl on a neutral site (New Orleans Arena), this will give our fans a chance to celebrate. It will be a celebration."

More stuff that came out of Wednesday's Rattlers ArenaBowl championship news conference at US Airways Center:

- Defensive back Arkeith Brown, who had five interceptions in the playoffs, four in the final two games, and 15 for the season (despite missing the first four games), said he has heard from the NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers since the ArenaBowl win last Friday. But it has just been talk to this point.

Brown said he owes thanks to Virgil Gray for helping him on playing the safety position in the championship game, a 72-54 rout of the Philadelphia Soul. Gray was the team's safety, before a knee injury in the National Conference championship game against the Utah Blaze kept him from playing in the final.

"Virgil showed me a lot of technique and got me through playing the middle," said Brown, who also had to patrol the middle of the secondary for three games during the regular season when Gray was out with an ankle injury. "I wouldn't have been able to do this without Virgil. I give all my praises to Virgil Gray."

- Fullback Odie Armstrong was sporting a big heavyweight championship gold-buckled belt. He wore a Superman T-shirt under his pads during games.

"It felt amazing," Armstrong said. "We came together at the right time. We didn't have a turnover the whole game. The defense played amazing.

"We knew what was at stake. Those guys we were playing, they were partying all week. We were focused all week. We knew why we were there. We came back with a big victory and brought it back to Arizona."

Can the Rattlers do it again? They came one play away from winning last year's ArenaBowl.

- Quarterback Nick Davila was voted MVP of the Arena Football League last season. But being named MVP of ArenaBowl XXV sounded much better.

"Defense came to show up every week and I think we were five for five on on-side kicks (recoveries)," Davila said. "You have to win out in all phases of the game and we did that."

The Ratters want to put Davila out in the forefront in marketing. Great choice. He is a solid guy. Humble, charasmatic, professional, a family man. Davila wants to seize his opportunities. He is making Arizona is home now, and he hopes to hold quarterback camps for kids and do community work in the off-season.

- The biggest recruiting trip coach and general manager Kevin Guy and majority owner Ron Shurts made last fall was to Lincoln, Neb., where they took in the Nebraka-Ohio State football game, while pursuing wide receiver Maurice Purify hard. Purify, a beast in the Arena game with his ability to make plays after he catches the ball, makes his home in Lincoln, where he played for the Cornhuskers. Shurts is a huge Nebraska fan. But Purify was sold on how well the Rattlers played last season when they won 18 games.

"Deep down in my heart, I really wanted to come here," said Purify, who was AFL Rookie of the Year last season for the Georgia Force. "I saw them last year having so much fun, going to the ArenaBowl. You'd see them beating someone like 48-13, and I thought, 'Oh, man, they've got to be having fun over there.' You just want to be a part of it."

Purify set an ArenaBowl record with seven touchdown catches against Philadelphia.

"(The Soul) were thinking they were going to win the game, and I wanted to play harder," Purify said. "We played like we did in the beginning of the year. We were clicking on all cylinders, like they couldn't make stops."

Purify overcame a knee scope during the season. He missed three games and gradually returned to form, playing his best in the final six quarters of the playoffs. He had five touchdown catches in the comeback win over Utah in the National Conference Championship game.

"I just felt more comfortable," Purify said. "As the weeks went by, the knee felt stronger. Every game, I felt better and better. When it came to playoff time, I pretty much felt like 100 percent."

- Guy praised the players for buyiing in all season and battling through adversity. There was a revolving door of receivers at one point. Guy kept plugging holes and the players kept believing. He arrived in 2008 when the Rattlers were on shaky ground. But he saw through four ownership changes and now he can't be more excited about the franchise's future with Shurts behind the product.

"We're back," Guy said. "There's no question, we're back. We're going to continue to grow this thing. We beat a very good football team. They've got great players. They beat everybody in our division, except us.

"We were ready to go. The discipline we had while we were down there was great."

Guy isn't sure how many players will return. He is hoping there won't be much turnover, because everybody signs one-year deals in the AFL. The new CBA would allow multi-year contracts to be signed.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Guy said. "We're going to enjoy it right now. But this is what I feel: 'When you win a championship, everybody gets an opportunity to come back and repeat.' Our plan next year will be to win it again. We'll work to try to put ourselves in that position to do it."

- The Rattlers will take their celebration to Saturday at US Airways Center, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., where the first 500 fans receive shirts, and championship merchandise will be sold. Expect a videotape on the big JumboTron to show a season's worth of highlights.

Kevin Guy came to Arizona in 2008, cleaned house, got rid of the old, brought in the new, challenged his players daily to get more physical, and now the Rattlers are basking in the afterglow of their first ArenaBowl championship since 1997 after Friday's 72-54 victory over the Philadelphia Soul in New Orleans.

It was the fifth time in the Rattlers' history that they beat the highest-scoring team in the league in the playoffs. The Soul averaged 68.2 points in the 18-game regular-season.

In the team's 20-year history, considering the opponent, there was never a more dominant display of power than in Friday's stunning blowout. Rookie Arkeith Brown asserted himself as the Arena Football League's best defensive back with two more interceptions, giving him five in three playoff games, two of those he returned for touchdowns. A third interception Friday was broken up by the wall.

Cliff Dukes showed why he was the league's most dominant defensive lineman down the stretch, deflecting a pass that led to Brown's first interception against the Soul, setting up the Rattlers' first touchdown that gave Arizona momentum it would never relinquish.

Receiver Maurice Purify was in MVP mode the way he hauled in an ArenaBowl record seven touchdowns, a carry over from last week's incredible second-half peformance (nine catches, 142 yards, five TDs) in the come-from-behind 75-69 win over the Utah Blaze.

Nick Davila proved why he is the best big-game quarterback in Rattlers' history. He tied an ArenaBowl record with nine touchdown passes. He completed 23 of 30 passes for 266 yards and was not intercepted. Counting the second half of the Utah game, Davila completed 38 of his last 48 passes.

Last year, in the 73-70 loss to Jacksonville in the ArenaBowl, Davila threw eight touchdown passes.

Guy, the team's head coach and general manager, built this team his way, with guys who have a swagger, guys who know how to win and guys who care about each other.

But how long can the Rattlers keep Guy and this core group together?

Guy has got to be a hot commodity. He completely changed the culture when he arrived in 2008, improving the team's personnel every year. But so far the NFL has stayed away.

Bringing in Purify and Brown and receiver Markee White, trading just before camp for Dukes, getting center Kyle Young to return, and signing offensive linemen Michael Huey and SirVincent Rogers were among some of the huge off-season moves.

Majority partner Ron Shurts may be the most committed owner the Rattlers have had. He cares about the players and the product and will do whatever it takes to help the players stay involved in the community year-round.

Davila isn't going anywhere as long as the NFL doesn't call. It's a mystery why Purify and Brown and even Davial aren't entertaining NFL tryouts. But as long as the NFL doesn't start chipping away at Guy's roster, this team is built for the long haul to start stacking championships.

ArenaBowl XXV

Friday night, 7:30 (Arizona time) at New Orleans Arena

Here is my break-down of the Rattlers (15-5) championship game against the Philadelphia Soul (17-3):

OFFENSE

What a difference Markee White makes to the Rattlers' offense. The 6-foot-7 receiver is like a small forward playing footbal. He is long and athletic and produces big in big games. He was an MVP of the ArenaBowl for Spokane two years ago. When he was gone taking care of personal buisiness for four weeks, the Rattlers' offense was way off kilter. With White back last week, the Rattlers' offense was back in sync. it makes 6-3, 225-pound Maurice Purify that much more dangerous. Purify and White stretch the field and Kerry Reed is a reliable threat catching and running and scoring touchdowns. Fullback Odie Armstrong is a good runner and blocker. Quarterback Nick Davila looks comfortable in the pocket again after completing 15 of 18 passes in last week's 75-69 comeback win over Utah.

The Soul averaged 68 points a game during the 18-game regular season. It is averaging 77 points in two playoff games. They have arguably the best run game in league history with Derrick Ross (32 rushing TDs). Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh is very efficient, as he gets the ball off quickly to his play-makers, most notably Jeff Hughley and Donovan Morgan. The Soul miss WR Tiger Jones, who signed with the NFL Eagles. Still, it's a dangerous team with Morgan, Hughley and the emergence of Larry Brakins, who had eight touchdowns in last week's rout of Jacksonville. Davila had a huge game in last year's ArenaBowl, and I think his experience in that and getting through a tough, physical game with Utah will pay off.

Edge: Rattlers

DEFENSE

The Soul led the league with a plus-23 turnover margin. They have two of the best cover guys in Kent Richardson (14 interceptions) and Rayshaun Kizer (11 interceptions). Kizer has four interceptions in the playoffs. Defensive lineman Bryan Robinson made All-Arena with 13 tackles for losses, including 10 sacks. The Soul thrive on forcing turnovers. They got Jacksonville rattled early in last week's American Conference championship game and rolled.

The Rattlers have shown an opportunistic defense in the second half of the season but the knee injury to safety Virgil Gray in last week's National Conference championship game hurts their secondary. They are much better with Gray in the middle. The Rattlers will try to get him ready to play with a brace. But the Rattlers likely will rely on Arkeith Brown to take care of the middle of the field and hope that Brandon Anderson can take care of the corner. The Rattlers are in good hands on one side with the experience and aggressive Marquis Floyd. Brown has been the Rattlers' most valuable defender this season. He was the only Rattlers defender to make All-Arena. He has 13 interceptions, including three in the playoffs. He returned an interception back for a touchdown in both playofff games. Can he do it again?

The Rattlers will have to play physical to have a chance. The Soul likes to get the ball out quickly. The Rattlers likely will play press coverage. If Cliff Dukes continues to give the Rattlers a strong surge up front, the Rattlers' chances of keeping the Soul well under its season scoring average is good.

Edge: Soul.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Rattlers kicker Chris Gould is a very accurate field-goal kicker and he is as good as any kicker in the league in blasting kickoffs that teams aren't able to return (57 touchbacks). But his on-side kicks have been soft and hardly effective. The Soul got a huge pick-up last week by signing free agent Fabrizio Scaccia, who kicked for the Rattlers last season before he left for the NFL San Francisco 49ers. Fabrizio looked like he had never been away from the 50-yard game in his season debut last week against Jacksonville, making all 12 of his point-after kicks and drilling his only field-goal attempt (a 22-yarder). Fabrizio is pretty good on on-side kicks if the Soul have to resort to that, and the Rattlers have not done well covering them up.

Edge: Soul

OVERALL

This is where the intangibles come in and I give the Rattlers the edge here. Davila, Armstrong, LB Kevin McCullough, DL Anttaj Hawthorne and Marcus Pittman, WRs Kerry Reed and Jason Geathers, DBs Gray and Floyd all went through this last year. They have not forgotten how badly things went down at the end, losing to the Sharks 73-70 on the last play. Coach Kevin Guy constanly pushes them. He studies film and knows every little piece of information from the other team. His defensive coordinator, Omarr Smith, has more ArenaBowl rings (four) than anybody in New Orleans. The Soul is basically all new this year, but they're all incredibly talented. OC Clint Dolezel has been a key to the Soul success. He complements head coach Doug Plank's intensity. And Hughley being part of last year's Jacksonville title team is a big X factor.

But I feel all the hard work the Rattlers put into this season, the experience, coming out of the toughest division (the West), the ability to come through in the clutch, it finally pays off.

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